Tag Archives: Promote yourself

Check out this opinion piece from Miles Bullough (co-founder of Wildseed Studios who recently signed a deal to produce new Disney XD animation Counterfeit Cat, and who used to be the Head of Broadcast at Aardman Animations).

Miles has written a piece about the state of animated sitcoms which explores some of the issues in creating them and why it has been so difficult for the UK to create a long term animated sitcom (a bit like the US did with The Simpson or Southpark.) There’s also a nice history charting British animated sitcoms throughout the years.

At Wildseed we’re determined to have a tilt at cracking the animated British Sitcom. I had a go in the 90’s when I Executive Produced Carl Gorham’s ‘Stressed Eric’ with Absolutely Productions. It burned very brightly for its 13 episodes on BBC2 but really we wanted it to be still running now, like The Simpsons or Southpark or American Dad. That’s the prize – a long running show that somehow captures the zeitgeist and is taken to the public’s hearts.

That hasn’t happened in the UK yet despite several credible attempts. The general feeling now is that may never happen, the conditions and opportunities in the UK TV market just don’t exist to support the creation of a long running animated adult sitcom.

Part of the challenge is economics. Animation is generally expensive and slow to produce and the slots for long running narrative shows in the UK just don’t come up that often. Soaps and panel shows take up all oxygen and can be produced quickly and far more cheaply than animation and on an industrial scale. For successful shows in the US, orders of 20+ episodes per year are commonplace, bringing economies of scale and giving shows the chance to find and keep an audience.

The characteristics of the US shows that we all admire and seek to emulate are reasonably simple to grasp: the shows are incredibly relatable – usually centering around family units living in un-extraordinary circumstances with recognizable social and personal structures – only Futurama really ditched that formula which is what in many people’s view made it into niche, sci-fi fare. There are really no examples of shows featuring talking animals (as the main cast) or which are set in fantastical worlds that have taken off in the mainstream.

The writing on the US shows is extraordinary and those writing teams attract the best minds in the US to them. The pace of the episodes is relentless, Southpark fizzes along so fast that some of us can barely keep up. All have great central characters, often a patriarchal figure, they all have kids in them and there is enough in the stories for kids to relate to (usually laughing at the parents) but the shows are never childish despite their huge following amongst the young.

Wildseed Comedy unveils debut adult animation comedy series Peter’s Place#PetersPlaceSeriesWildseed Comedy has unveiled Peter’s Place, its debut adult animation comedy series. The show is set in a pub in Manchester, the sort that would give Family Guys’ The Drunken Clam a run for its money, and is managed by Peter, a quick-witted, foul-mouthed northerner with trust issues and anxieties over the threatening expansion of the middle classes. You know the type.

The series is part of Wildseed Studio’s commitment to launch a new series every month and provide viewers with premium, original shows featuring the best new UK comedy talent.

Peter’s Place explores the dysfunctional relationships Peter has with his clientele and the bond that binds these misfits including foul-mouthed pensioner Mary who’s lonely and un-loved ever since her husband left her. Then there’s Brian, an aspiring creative trapped in a soulless job – and not forgetting Oliver who’s a bit of a dreamer that needs a guiding hand to cope with the tough realities of modern life.

Produced by Wildseed Comedy, Peter’s Place is a four-part series which viewers can watch on Wildseed Comedy’s YouTube channel from Tuesday 14 April here http://petersplaceseries.com/

Founded in 2014 by Miles Bullough & Jesse Cleverly,Wildseed Comedy aims to become the home of new online comedy in the UK.Our mission is to help bring fresh comedy projects to life through nurturing, developing and financing talent. We are dedicated to providing viewers with premium, original, scripted shows featuring the best new UK comedy talent, with a new series launching every month.

We are aiming high and need 42.000 Euros so our project can go from an idea to reality. To reach our goal we need your help. All press coverage, interviews, pictures and such would get us closer to our fundraising goal.

Gustaf the puffin is an animated character which I, Anna Birgis and Gabriele Ranfagni own the copyright to.

We have an excellent team behind us, all very qualified animators. You can see our team on our page on Karolina Fund.

We are aiming to have the pilot show ready in the fall of 2015. We do not have a specific date yet but we will keep you posted.

When that show is ready and premiered, the people that donated the high amounts to our project will be invited to see it, if they have free time to fly over to Iceland. Along with them, part of our team, my self and Gabriele and people from the press, this premier will be a great one.

After the pilot episode is ready and has been premiered it is time for my self and Gabriele to find an investor for our project. Our idea is to make 24 episodes, 11 minutes each.

Gustaf the puffin is Icelandic and all episodes made will happen in icelandic landscape.

As you can see on our fundraising page on Karolina Fund, the introduction for Gustaf the puffin happens on an icelandic beach on black sand right by a place called Dyrholaey.

The idea for the project happened at Dyrholaey last summer in July when my self, Gabriele and others went there to look at the puffins.

If you have more questions or want an interview please contact me – Anna Birgis, by email annabirgis@gmail.com or by phone +354-8658586.

French production company, Composite Films launches crowdfunding campaign for its polar western, To Build a Fire

On Monday, October 27thCompositeFilms has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogowith the objective to collect 25,000€ in contributions to finance the 2D animated short film adaptation of Jack London’s famous short story To Build a Fire directed by award winning and London based, FX Goby. You can see the first few images on Facebook by clicking here. The film will be finished by the beginning of 2016 for the 100th anniversary of Jack London’s death. Within only 15 days of our campaign, we have managed to surpass the 10,000€ mark with over 100 contributors! The campaign finishes December 22nd, so there are only less than 40 days left to get a part of the action!

Who?

To Build a Fire brings together the unique vision of FX Goby, director of award winning En tus Brazos, and the expertise of Samuel François-Steininger, producer and founder of Composite Films. Located in Lyon, the birthplace of cinematography, our production company is a part of the cultural vitality of Europe, and with achieving the goal of 25,000€ will be a fantastic way to showcase the French savoir-faire at an international level.

What?

Adapted from Jack London’s short story, To Build a Fire, a 10-minute 2D film, tells the terrible and tragic tale of a trapper and his dog crossing the polar tundra of the Yukon, a territory located in the arctic circle of North America near Alaska. The novella, essentially descriptive and void of dialogue, represents a veritable challenge for adaptation. The minimal style and refined animation of FX Goby will be evident through his work on sound and staging. He will replace London’s narrative words of the burning cold with focusing on the intense sensations, such as the vicious progression of freezing blood as it backflows, seeking refuge in the heart of the man that is fighting hypothermia.

Why?

Monday, October 27th, we launched a campaign for crowdfunding on Indiegogo with the objective of receiving 25,000€ to fund the film. With this money, Composite Films will be able to cover the costs of preproduction (including shooting in the Alps, animation production of 10 minutes- the first version, animation testing, etc.), to create a universe of sound for the film with a sound designer, pay the team of artists involved in our project, promote our film and find new contributors. In exchange for their donation, the crowdfunders will have access to tons of unique compensations, from a dogsled race in the breathtaking mountain ranges of le Jura and les Vosges, to T-shirts, Christmas edition handmade finger puppets of the characters, a limited edition Leatherman® multi-tool, a collector’s edition book of illustrations, and effigy figurines of the characters in To Build a Fire!

When?

The crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo will last two months. The money received will allow us to go into production immediately.

2016 will not only mark the 100th year after Jack London’s death, but also his 140th birthday. Thus the goal is to finish production by the end of 2015 to be able to widely distribute our film to festivals throughout the next year to celebrate this double anniversary.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our project! We are readily available to answer any questions you may have, conduct interviews or provide you with any details to enrich your articles or reports. Any and all passing the word along about our campaign will help! You can also check out, like, follow and share our official To Build a FireFacebook and Twitter pages. If you would like to download our Press Kit, comprised of key visuals of To Build a Fire’s design and artwork, as well as portraits of the producer and director, click here.

Tony Ross of tonyteach.com here, and we’ve been working on this since April, but we will finally be releasing our new Toon Boom training, Character Animation in Toon Boom Animate 3, on Wednesday September 10. This is probably the strongest, most in-depth Toon Boom title tonyteach has released to date, and it covers everything from a basic intro, to completing a short animated scene!